Please Tell Me Why
by FloofyFox
Summary: Whilst escaping from Koslov, Judy and Nick find themselves in a taming party. The whole experience is quite shocking, especially for Judy, but it soon leads the bunny to wonder, 'Please tell me why' This is a small one-shot based on the deleted scene and concept for Zootopia. Hope you enjoy! COMPLETE


Nick struggled in the chains, rattling them, trying to ignore the nausea as his blood flowed down into his head.

"Will you quit wriggling?!" Judy cried to him, trying to elbow the fox in his side. However, all she managed was a slight nudge, as the chains were wrapped around them too tightly for proper assault. "And hurry up and find a way out," she sighed. Nick could tell she was tired, and the being upside down wasn't the nicest position to be in, especially with the chains digging into every soft spot they had.

"I'm trying," he seethed in frustration, giving the chain near his foot another kick. It proved fruitless, as it just made them swing a little in the cold air.

Koslov wasn't very generous when he had trussed them up like spring chickens, and the fact that the bear knew Nick didn't like hanging upside down was quite infuriating to the fox. That, and being trapped with a whining Judy at his back.

 _Why do I get into these messes? I could've had a brilliant life running Wilde Times, and this bunny just had to crash the party!_ Nick complained to himself for the millionth time, just as his eye caught something shiny, that was trapped in the chains.

"Can we please just find a way out," Judy complained, back at it with her whining, as Nick pawed the shiny thing with his hind paw, craning his neck to look up.

Just as he had suspected, a screw driver! Wherever the screw driver came from was yet a mystery though…

 _Oh well, must have been dragged out and caught when they fetched the chain from the inventory over in the shed,_ Nick reasoned, as he used his toes to catch hold of it and drag it out of the chain. He puffed in the effort of holding it with his back paw, squinting his eyes as he adjusted his grip, all the while Judy complaining about finding a way out.

 _Stupid rabbit._

Then, with great positioning, Nick let the screw driver go, twirling in the air, making it land perfectly in to his open jaws. The fox's eyes glinted as he adjusted his teeth into a firm position, and started picking at the lock on his chest.

"Argh, why do I have to be right up against you! And would you quit squirming, you need to figure out a way to get out!" the rabbit yelled at him, thumping her foot against his, nearly making Nick drop the screw driver. _Why do I have to figure it out?_ He wanted to cry out, but settled with rolling his eyes in annoyance, as he finished picking the lock, letting it open with a click.

He quickly spat it out, and it landed on the floor with a large thud, getting Judy's attention as it rolled against the marble tiles.

"Oh I did. For me," Nick smirked, wriggling in his chains, making them fall loose.

"See ya later sucker!" he cried defiantly, as the chains broke free. Nick felt himself falling, falling down, falling down to freedom once again. And then…

 _Thunk!_

Nick and Judy felt their paws lassoed, and they smashed into each other's backs, spinning slowly around as they dangled precariously from one foot. Nick started to growl in frustration, as Judy groaned from their predicament.

"This is _not_ my day!" Nick yelled, losing it as they slowed down in their waltz in the air. The dead silence that came from Judy was enough to tell him what she was thinking, making him huff again, for no particular reason.

Suddenly, the fox heard something slip and flap open on the floor, and he jerked his head back to see Judy's notepad, where she recorded all her crime details and information that she gathered on the case.

"You ran their plates?!" Nick cried out, as soon as he saw what was on the notepad in front of him.

"Did you get an address?" he whispered, looking Judy in the eye. The bunny gave him an unamused look, but before she could reply to his question, they heard a creak from the door holding them captive. The mammals started, and quickly yanked their feet out of the chain's loop, landing on the floor, Nick on his back and Judy on her paws. They looked up, just in time to see the door start to creak open.

Nick sprinted over to the first thing he saw, a small tray with a cloth covering it. He heard the scoop and patter as Judy grabbed her notebook and ran after him, diving under the cover of the tray with him just as the door opened.

They heard some paw-steps, but Nick didn't waste any time in raising the topic again, just as they felt themselves moving.

"Did you get an address?" he repeated himself, a little firmer, making Judy send him a look of fury.

"It doesn't matter; you were going back to the station!" she seethed at him in a rush of words he barely caught on.

"If I go back to the station I'll never get my life back!" he shot back at her, voice raising as the tray halted.

"We're not going to talk about it anymore!" Judy ended sharply, making Nick want to reply. However, the sound of cheerful music made him turn his head, blinking at the cloth screen that concealed them.

He glanced at Judy, shushing her with a finger to his muzzle.

Then he crept up to the cloth, and peaked his nose out, then slowly pulled it up, revealing a party with lots of colourful balloons, small cubs running around happily as the tray slowly moved forward. This made Nick start, and, looking around, he saw a giant banner saying 'Zootopia Welcomes You!' with lots of present situated underneath, and a giant cake in the middle.

 _Oh great,_ he thought ducking back underneath the cloth, letting it flap behind him.

"We've gotta move!" he whispered to his companion, forgetting any argument they had just had.

"Why?" _Great, she's_ still _asking stupid questions!_ The vulpine thought bitterly, as he hushed her once again. Then, he looked outside, to see the polar bear that had pushed them over into the room close the door behind him, and exit it once again. Nick glanced around once again, and seeing that the coast was clear, whipped back under the tray.

"Now," he said to her, and pushed her out to their left, right under the cover of some chairs and paws.

The two mammals speedily crept down though them chair and animal legs, careful not to disturb anything, and Nick careful not to tickle anyone with his bushy tail. _Almost there,_ he thought, as they nearly reached the end of the row, right near the door.

Until Judy turned her head to the sound of Koslov start speaking. _What is she doing?!_ Nick cried in his head in frustration, as he turned around to see the giant polar bear call for silence, through a speaker on the stage.

"Ok, ok," his thick accent covered how serious he was, "Ok!" he yelled, receiving dead silence as the crowd of bears looked up at him.

"Where is Boris? Oh Boris, come up here!" he called out gently, and soon enough a small polar bear cub came running up the stage steps to stand right in front of Koslov, who must very well be his father.

"What is this" Judy asked behind her shoulder, but Nick finally realized what was going on.

"Just keep going!" he said, pushing her onwards. Almost there!

"Come on, come on," the polar bear ushered.

"Today, my little Boris, he is, no longer a cub," Koslov said, getting Judy's attention before Nick could reply to her. The big polar bear placed his paws on Boris's shoulders, looking down at him with sad eyes, making Judy stare at him in confusion.

"Today he becomes-"

"A big bear!" Boris interrupted excitedly, clapping his paws in persistence. This cracked Nick's heart, as he gulped down the cry that threatened to burst from his throat. How could Zootopia brain wash predator cubs that this was an honourable thing?

"That is right, a big- big bear," Koslov said, and Nick could tell that every single word was forced. There was some clapping, and once again Nick's companion slowed down once again.

"Is this- is this a taming party?" Judy whispered back to Nick, as the fox was drawn out of his thoughts. All he did was stare at her, with his 'Oh, so it must be the _other_ party' stare.

Nick sighed, looking down at his front paws. There was no use trying to hide Judy from the truth, and in the end, it was probably best to open her blind eyes in the first place. Nick just didn't want to experience it for himself again.

He glanced back at Judy, to see her blink, as her question was answered. Nick looked to see another pair of paws walk up towards the stage, to reveal another polar bear handing Koslov a medium, green box.

The polar bear turned the box around, and, opened it before Boris's eyes. It was a 'tame' collar, with its small box turned off. Nick could see the little bear's excited reflection inside the id of the box, and knitted his brows together in sympathy for the small mammal. Judy's nose just twitched as she cocked her head.

Boris grinned widely at his father, as Koslov removed the collar, and held it in his paws, while another bear took the box away. The large bear stood there for a brief moment, looking at the collar, and then shook his head.

He slipped out a small note that was in the box of the collar, and unfolded it.

"With this collar, Zootopia welcomes you," he began, in a tired voice. _All lies,_ Nick scoffed, as the little bear cub repeated;

"With this collar, Zootopia welcomes me," the red mammal looked down bitterly, not wanting to watch.

"With this collar, Zootopia celebrates you," Nick glanced back up at them, shooting daggers at the words coming out of the bear's mouth.

"With this collar, Zootopia celebrates me," Judy just watched on with interest. _At least she never had to go through this,_ Nick thought sourly, as they continued to watch.

"With this collar," Koslov sighed, and Nick knew how heartbreaking it must be for him, as he felt an unexpected flash of sympathy for the bear, "Zootopia, accepts you,"

"With this collar, Zootopia accepts me," Boris finished, standing tall and proud. His father frowned slightly as he knelt down in front of his cub, and gestured for him to come forward. Boris did as he was told, and lifted his head up high as he closed his eyes. Koslov looped the collar around his neck, and held the small box, the clip, in front of him, staring down despairingly at the device. He still didn't clip it in place.

Boris sensed his hesitation, and opened his eyes, to find his father's collar flash yellow at his emotions.

"What's wrong papa?" the small cub asked, bringing Koslov back into reality.

"Nothing, eh, papa is just- happy, for you," the bigger bear, smiled sadly at his son, and then, after the bear cub smiled up at him, he clipped the collar into place, activating the device with a beep.

The cub squealed happily, and threw his arms around his father's neck, burying his muzzle in Koslov's fur.

"Thank you papa," Boris whispered, as Nick's ears sunk back at Koslov's dismayed look.

The older polar bear took a glance at the ground, as polite clapping sounded all around the room. All the older mammals knew what the collar meant, but didn't want to go crazy cheering, as they felt Koslov's sadness.

As soon as Boris's father let him go, the young cub walked up to the front of the stage, and threw his arms up in the air in triumph as balloons fell from the ceiling. These sparked some cheering from the younger mammals, as they all started playing with the air inflated objects.

"Boris-!" Koslov started, as he saw his son's collar flashing yellow.

Nick tensed as the cub kept clapping and stamping around, aware of Judy smiling in front of him, oblivious to the collar's action.

"Boris!" Koslov cried as the beeping on Boris's collar grew louder, but it was too late.

The collar sent a medium sized shock to the little bear's neck, zapping him, sending shock all throughout Boris's body. He hadn't been expecting the collar to zap him so soon.

Judy and Nick took in a breath, as the crowd gasped. The polar bear cub looked back in shock at his father, a paw to where the collar shocked him. Koslov wasn't able to conjure up any words of comfort at his shock, so instead, he opened his arms and knelt back down, as Boris walked into them sniffling as the pain ebbed in his neck.

Nick could see Judy staring that them, shock still written on her face, as sadness crept into her eyes. The fox felt his collar start to flash yellow, and as he tried to control his feelings, Judy looked back at him.

Nick's eyes gazed past her at the door, as he felt her questions burn into him. _Is this what it's like for you? Where you once an excited cub getting the shock collar? Please, tell me why!_

The fox didn't try to hide how deeply this scene had cut into him, so instead of meeting his companion's eyes, he dropped his gaze down to the ground, sighing deeply. His tail brushed them ground, as Judy's eyes didn't leave him.

"Go," he finally said, staring at his paws. The bunny looked like she wanted to say more, but she could tell Nick was too sorrowful to explain.

Her gaze also dropped, as she turned around and snuck out from under the chairs. Nick followed her in silence, his tail twitching as they crept out through the door, and out into freedom.

Even if Judy had raised the topic again, Nick wouldn't have been able to answer her. He wouldn't be able to answer her about how different it was from having a collar on twenty-four seven, he wouldn't be able to answer how it felt to have his freedom taken away from him. Because he didn't know. He didn't know what it was like _not_ having the collar on, he didn't know _what_ it felt like to have freedom like prey.

And the last question she would have asked, well, he asked himself that all the time, but he could never have an answer.

So he kept questioning it, to every mammal he met, to himself, to Finnick.

All he asked was;

"Please, tell me _why_ ,"

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

 **Hey guys! I am SO sorry I haven't updated in ages, my life has just gotten really hectic, lots of assignment and stuff, and I just needed a little break.**

 **Ok, so this was pretty much based on a small deleted scene (well more of a storyboard) that was, obviously, part of the scrapped original concept for Zootopia.**

 **I am interested to see how that would have turned out, but in the end, as you can tell from this little snippet, it would have been really depressing, and I definitely would have ended up crying.**

 **But, I just felt like writing this, so here you go.**

 **Also, if you want to see more of this, I strongly recommend checking out my own story that I have started, 'Shock and Collars' which is what I feel would be a cool runner-up or sequel for Zootopia, using that deleted concept. So yeah, go check it out, either searching it up or going to my profile.**

 **Well, that is all I have to say, and I will try and update more, except please don't get your hopes up.**

 **Until next time, Carrots!**


End file.
